Wellington destroys Winfield with 63 points, 9 touchdowns, 554 yards, and an 85-yard fumble recovery
Jalik Armstrong takes off for a 70-yard touchdown.
By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Wellington entertained one of the largest home crowds in years with a convincing 63-29 victory over the Vikings. It wasn’t supposed to come that easily.
The 4-2 Crusaders knocked down the 4-2 Vikings Friday night as Anna Ewing was crowned Duchess of Wellington. The win catapults Wellington to fifth place in the Class 4A-West with Andover Central, Wamego, Mulvane and Kapaun all sporting 5-1 records (see here).
Tonight, everything came together. The Sellers Park turf never looked better. KAKE-TV featured this as the “game of the week,” and the Wellington offense put on a show.
The Crusaders scored nine touchdowns and accumulated 554 yards in total offense. Quarterback Dusty Bannister had his third-best night with 364 yards. Carter Burnett and Skyler Branam both had two touchdowns. And let’s not forget the 85-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Nick Giefer that was a 14-point swing. Without that one play this could have been a much closer ball game.
“We needed to put together a very convincing win,” said Jeremiah Meeks to Channel 10 Sports. “We did that tonight.”
And if you were wondering when the last time Wellington scored 63 points in a varsity football game, we couldn’t find one from records accessed back until 1996. Wellington did score 61 points against Kingman in 2009.
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Grady Norris with a long reception.
Wellington never punted the whole game. It opened the game with a 14-0 first-quarter lead as Bannister hit Burnett with a 30-yard touchdown pass. On its second possession, Jalik Armstrong got out of the open and scrambled 70 yards for a touchdown – the first of four 50-plus yard TDs.
Wellington had its second consecutive four-touchdown second quarter. Bannister threw a 57-yarder to Burnett, and Grady Norris got into the act with a 27-yard touchdown reception.
Winfield then started its first significant drive and got down to the 15-yard line. That’s when a fumble led Giefer to find a lane and go 85 yards in the other direction. The Crusaders were up 42-13 at the half.
The defense mangles Winfield’s Jackson Davis.
It never got easier for the Vikings in the second half. Wellington went on a 55-yard eight-play drive that ended with a Bannister 4-yard keeper. After Winfield scored, Wellington had its one fumble in the game. But Giefer got another fumble recovery two plays later and drove the ball to the 2. Jamar Armstrong then came in and bulldozed his way to the end zone – his second touchdown run of the season from the 2.
Wellington added one more touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 52-yard throw from Bannister to Branam.
The Crusaders have two regular season games left with El Dorado and Rose Hill, with one win between them.
